Starcrossed 22: Race Day
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"So fast!" Sunstreaker trilled, squirming in Prowl's arms as they entered the local racetrack. Jazz was having just as much trouble keeping Sideswipe in check.
"Settle down or we won't be able to get closer," Prowl warned them.
They settled, barely, but Jazz could feel Sideswipe quivering against him as the racers came around the curve and shot by. "Please can we get closer," the sparkling said, voice and field ringing with excitement.
Jazz felt like squirming himself. Sideswipe felt odd in his arms and against his plating, and he wasn't sure if it was the crowds or just having them at a moderately sized public event for the first time, but he was uncomfortable and really wished he wasn't holding his creation so close. "Yes, we can get closer," he answered, looking around.
"Follow," Prowl said simply as he began weaving his way through the crowds, angling away from the trackside towards the seating above. The energy was a little more controlled up here for the creators, but the view of the entire track satisfied the sparklings.
They were still quivering with excitement, if that was any indication.
"When can we go like that?" Sunstreaker asks, optics wide and bright.
"You can not race here until your adult frame," Prowl said firmly. "Once you are in your mechling frame you will have an alt mode and can race on the mechling tracks."
"But that's in forever," Sideswipe sighed, but perked as soon as the racers came back around again. "Look at that one!" he said, pointing at the flashy, red and gold colored leader. "That's him, right?" he asked, meaning the relatively well-known local racing celebrity who was the reason for much of the crowd.
"Yes," Jazz said. "That's Comet."
"Can we meet him? I want to see what he looks like in root mode!"
"We can try," Prowl said, his tone dubious. "If you wish to see what he looks like, watching from up here is much more likely to produce a good result. Closer is not always better."
The twins looked at each other, apparently trying to decide if that was the truth or a way to make them feel better about not getting to see him, then nodded once.
"All right," Sunstreaker said, and Sideswipe cuddled up against Jazz's chest, trilling in contentment as the race went on.
"After the race, we can visit the sparkling center. They have a track and little vehicles to race with," Prowl suggested. "You can meet a few others your age and socialize."
"That sounds fun," Sideswipe said eagerly, then looked up and gave a sharp, excited chirp, pointing at the Aerial unit that was flying overhead, suddenly squirming so badly that Jazz very nearly lost his grip and had to lunge forward to catch the jumping sparkling. "Look look look!" he trilled, and turned to Prowl, optics wide and bright with excitement, before looking at Jazz, and then faltered when he saw the unfamiliar look on his carrier's face and looked back at Prowl, uncertain.
Prowl's optics were focused on his mate. ::Saxo?::
Jazz physically jerked, tore his gaze away from Sideswipe and shook his head, frowning. "Sorry," he murmured, and shifted uncomfortably. "Why don't you go sit with Sunstreaker?"
Sideswipe nodded and scurried away from his carrier to his brother where they both pressed close to their sire. It only lasted a moment before the race captured their attention again.
::What's wrong?:: Prowl asked, genuinely concerned.
Jazz frowned, because there was little point in replying "nothing" because Prowl wouldn't believe him. He shifted again, trying to focus on the racers. ::Just-felt weird, felt fuzzy. And like he wasn't-I don't know. I just-I wish he would stop pointing at every Aerial he sees!:: he hissed, and got a startled look from both sparklings as his field spiked out aggressively.
Prowl's field wrapped around his creations protectively, shielding them from Jazz. He didn't even realize he'd physically put himself, his wings, between them as well until the unease of a few mecha around them made him check his posture.
::They are nothing like him.:: Prowl said firmly, insisting with everything he was as he forced himself to straighten and settle his wing language. ::Mecha have to be taught to be evil. They will not be taught.::
Jazz winced when he realized his mate had been shielding their sparklings from him. ::I know that,:: he said, forcing his field to smooth, forcing his emotions to level, and sighed. ::I know that. I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me.:: He lifted his hand up to his helm, touching, shaking his head once more.
Prowl reached out with one hand, the other arm lightly corralling the sparklings in his lap. ::We will talk about this more by hardline, when we've put them down for a nap. We'll make things work out.:: His field reached out to caress Jazz with love and care.
Jazz pressed back gratefully, then focused on the twins. Sunstreaker had his arms around Sideswipe as well and they were watching the race together, very carefully looking like that was all they were doing.
Jazz's spark throbbed in his chest. "Sides?" he trilled gently.
Both sparklings looked at him, but Sunstreaker's expression was a defiant, protective glare.
"Carrier," Sideswipe responded, wanting things to be okay and terrified they wouldn't be despite his brother and sire.
"I'm sorry," Jazz said quietly, and held his hand out just short of his sparkling, field perfectly calm and soothing. "I didn't mean to startle you, dear spark, you did nothing wrong. I'd like it if you would sit with me, but only if you want to?"
Sideswipe smiled brightly and scrambled out of Prowl's lap despite Sunstreaker's hissing efforts to restrain him. Prowl's field washed over them both with approval and thanks.
Jazz trilled to his tiny, chirping bundle of sparkling and held him close, nuzzling his neck and tickling gently, making Sideswipe trill and squirm, laughing, easily and eagerly letting himself be enveloped by his carrier's arms as they settled in to watch the rest of the races.
Once the main races had ended and Comet left the track, smaller local racing began again, but by then the twins were getting restless with sitting still. There was only so much watching other mecha go fast while they were barely permitted to squirm that they could handle, and Prowl tactfully mentioned a play area for sparklings that the track kept up, for mecha to leave their creations in another's care.
Prowl and Jazz were not about to leave their creations there, but creators were more than welcome to stay, socialize, watch, and play, and it would be a good chance for the twins to meet some age-mates and do some socializing of their own. It wouldn't be bad for Jazz and Prowl to meet and interact with the creators of the twins' likely classmates when they were older, either.
There were about a half dozen other sparklings running around on the play equipment and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker barely made it to the gates before leaping out of their creators' arms and dashing off to join them.
"Not afraid of anything," Jazz said with a hint of a smile, watching them.
"They're far too young to understand what being hurt means," Prowl smiled indulgently and guided Jazz to a bench seat near the edge where they could watch without hovering. It was the furthest they'd allowed the pair to wander and they both knew all too soon they would be required to leave them alone with strangers.
"Twins?" a light tenor asked, drawing their attention to a bright orange and red mechling with a ready grin and bright energy.
"Oh, no," Jazz laughed, and leaned against Prowl, twining their fingers together. "They certainly like to think they are, though. We met when we were both already carrying," he explained, and nuzzled his mate.
The youth scowled, his field agitated and distressed, surprising them both until he spoke. "How could a mate leave with a creation on the way? Doesn't it take effort and intent to make that happen?"
"Most of the time, yes," Prowl's field reached out to sooth him softly. "But occasionally a newspark can be generated without intent. Or with unconscious desire by one. It happens too often these orns, but we were lucky," he nuzzled Jazz and kissed at his neck cabling until he got a shiver and soft moan. "We each found a real mate when the spark sires proved unworthy."
Jazz purred back at him, a look on his face that said Prowl was going to pay for the teasing kisses later. "Now it's just a matter of who wins the argument of who carries next," he told the youth with a grin. "I'm Saxo, this is Pantera."
"Peca," the youth grinned at him and offered a hand to shake. "I'm watching my cousin," he motioned towards the group without being clear which one he was connected to. "Praxus is nice, but I'm looking forward to going home again."
Jazz smiled at him as he and Prowl settled in to watch, neither of them ever fully taking their attention off their sparklings, who were so far playing on their own, obviously loving the lack of close supervision as they climbed around on the equipment. "Where's home?" he asked politely.
"Iacon," Pica leaned against the wall. "Creators had some job that they'd be working on like thirty-six joors an orn and didn't think I should have a metacycle unsupervised." He huffed. "The race tracks here are awesome though. There's hardly anything in Iacon that lets mechlings race. I'll miss that. Do you race, or just watch?"
"We just watch," Jazz answered, Prowl being mostly focused on the twins. Jazz looked back from Pica just in time to see Sideswipe jumping off a platform that was easily twice his current height. "I'm pretty sure that shatters the shoulder rule," he murmured, amused, curious to see what Prowl was going to do about it.
"Sideswipe," Prowl's voice was even, calm, but decidedly commanding. It brought the red sparkling to him with only a half-sparked effort to look too cute to punish. Prowl didn't even have to say anything. He simply pointed to a spot on the wall and the sparkling went and sat down, facing it. "Three kliks."
"He'll actually stay there?" Pica sounded amazed.
"If he wants to play again he will. Time restarts if he gets up, throws anything, speaks or is otherwise disruptive."
Pica made a low, astonished whistling sound. "You don't happen to give lessons on that, do you?"
"There isn't much to it other than consistency," Prowl told him. "Be clear about the rules. Be clear what the punishments are. Be calm. If they break the rules of the punishment, do not speak. Quietly bring them back to the spot or take the object away. The only thing you should say during the punishment is 'time has restarted' or 'time is up'. The key is consistency, remaining calm and not giving them attention when they seek it during punishment."
"Don't worry, it's really not as easy as he's making it sound," Jazz told the youth who was now staring in open-mouthed awe. "Unless you're him, that is." He watched Sunstreaker, who was now only making a half-sparked attempt at continuing to play on his own, mostly concerned with keeping an optic on his twin, impatient for him to come back.
The remaining three kliks passed by without event and the very nanoklik they were up, Sideswipe sprang to his pedes and turned, running back, but he pulled up short when another sparkling dove on him from where he'd been hiding in a playful tackle.
Sideswipe rolled easily with it, play-growling back at the new sparkling, who looked delighted to have found a playmate. Right up until a blur of bright yellow tackled him with a very real snarl and punch that didn't land. Moving faster than even the caretakers there could follow, Prowl was on them, separating the two sparklings with a strong hand on Sunstreaker's scruff bar.
"Sunstreaker, that was not an attack. Your brother was in no danger," Prowl said firmly, forcing the irate sparkling to look at him.
"But Sides is mine," Sunstreaker protested, then pointed at the startled sparkling who looked a bit disoriented but no worse for the wear. "He shouldn't have touched him, he's mine!"
To the side, Jazz stiffened and straightened, but made no other movement. Sideswipe lingered near the other sparkling, scuffing the ground with his pede, watching his twin with only open curiosity and waiting to see what their sire decided for him.
"Sunstreaker." Prowl growled at the bright yellow sparkling, his field sharp but not angry, his grip firm, unyielding, without hurting even the delicate sparkling armor. "He is your brother. He is not your possession. No mecha belongs to you. That is slavery. Do you understand?"
"Brother, not slave," Sunstreaker summarized it easily.
"Sideswipe as the same right to play with others that you do," Prowl continued with that same low, firm voice Jazz remembered from his youth. It was usually directed at others, but the few times Prowl turned his particular brand of disapproval on him Jazz had cowered without really understanding why. It wasn't fear for his safety, but fear of loosing the respect and care of the one mecha he all but worshiped. "That you chose to not play with others does not take away his option to do so."
"But he's my brother," Sunstreaker objected, looking frantically between Sideswipe, Prowl and Jazz for someone to understand.
With a gust of air out his vents Prowl knelt to be optic level with the distressed sparkling. "Sunstreaker." He got the sparkling to look at him. "It is important that you allow your brother to be his own mech and make his own choices. Protect him, yes, but only when he is in actual danger."
"Yes, creator," Sunstreaker dropped his optics in surrender, though no one believed it was really over.
Prowl nodded, accepting the temporary victory. "Now, do you know why you should not attack another mecha?"
"It's bad manners?" the sparkling took a good guess.
"It can also get you in trouble with mecha I cannot protect you from," Prowl said.
Sunstreaker nodded, looking very uncomfortable. "I understand," he said.
"Me too," Sideswipe said. "Can Sunny come play now? He didn't mean it."
"He knew before moving that assault is unacceptable," Prowl explained to the red twin. "He will have a time out just as you did."
"I'll do my time and be back," Sunstreaker promised, subdued by the talk and just how serious their sire's field was.
Sideswipe nodded, unconcerned, and turned towards the new sparkling who was still sitting and watching. "Wanna play?" he asked, jumping towards him.
"Yeah!" he got a grin back as they tussled.
Sunstreaker's engine growled again, but he went to the wall and sat facing it quietly.
"Wow," Pica said as Prowl came back after giving a nod of acknowledgement to the caretakers who had watched the entire exchange very closely. "Protective little sparkling."
"Very," Jazz agreed, frowning as he watched Sunstreaker.
"It is the first time they have interacted with others their own age," Prowl added. "He will learn how to temper his possessiveness."
"I'll have to try that calm consistency stuff," Pica said, grinning. "Better results than I usually have when I'm trying to get my cousin to listen."
"It's effective if you can do it," Jazz said, finally looking away from his creation and watching after Sideswipe, who was running with his new friend, arms outstretched, in a game of chase. "I usually get roped into whatever they're playing, myself."
"Heh. Me too," the mechling agreed.
"You're both young," Prowl gave a slight smile. "Patience comes with age, experience and a great deal of practice."
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They stopped at a public washracks on the way home to get both sparklings clean from the long, exciting orn that neither of them could stop chattering about, having apparently forgotten the few small mishaps, but once they were home, the chattering quickly gave way into drooped frames and dimmed optics and they were tucked away into recharge. Jazz watched, leaning against the wall, as Prowl stroked each of their helms, then stood and looked at his mate.
Jazz sighed and wordlessly went into their berthroom and sat down, dataport spiraled open. Prowl sat next to him and pulled him close, his field warm and gentle, as was the kiss as he plugged in.
Jazz sagged against him, feeling worn out and stressed. ~I'm failing as a creator,~ he said. ~Aren't I.~
~It's not coming easily for you,~ Prowl only partially agreed as he held his love close, supporting him as he moved through the younger mech's processors, checking and confirming what he suspected. ~It likely never will with the twins. You are not failing, however. You are still trying, and you want to love them despite the difficulties and fears.~
~They're just so...they're-~ Jazz said, searching for the right way to describe it. ~I feel like if I could just feel them it would be all right, I loved them so much when I could feel their sparks, I miss that,~ he sighed.
~They remind you of him. You're terrified that our influence won't counter his,~ Prowl spelled it out gently. ~You can't bring yourself to trust that they are innocent sparklings and far more of us than him.~
~Even he was a sparkling once,~ Jazz said, shuddering. ~And you can't be taught to love pain like that, the things he got off on, it was spark deep, and he's in them!~
~As are you. Far, far more of you.~ Prowl reminded him. ~My coding plays no small part in them too. Try not to condemn them before they do more than act like normal sparklings. Even you lashed out on occasion in the first few vorns.~
~I know I'm in them,~ Jazz whispered, lifting his optics to his mate. ~That isn't...much of a comfort.~ He shook his head. ~Sparklings, they're just normal sparklings, just that,~ he repeated.
~The mech who sparked them was the terror of your existence for a vorn, and still a menace to us,~ Prowl murmured. ~I know. I have also seen amazing mecha come of bad creators, and terrible mecha come of good ones.~
Jazz nodded. ~And we'll never teach them what he was taught. They'll never know that kind of life. And they're smart, they're so smart.~ He smiled at Prowl. ~Your influence.~
~And yours,~ Prowl kiss him affectionately. ~You're not shy in the processor power. They have your looks though, more than mine.~
~Are you kidding?~ Jazz asked, nuzzling back. ~Sunstreaker will have that same strong beauty as you,~ he said, running his fingers down the sides of Prowl's face.
~Sideswipe has your wonderful warmth, and your features,~ Prowl leaned into a kiss that grew heated. ~He takes after you so much it is a joy to watch. Just as it is a joy to see that I influenced Sunstreaker enough that he displays some of my traits.~
Jazz grinned against him. ~Well, you were very dedicated about influencing,~ he teased. ~I was surprised my valve didn't just wear right through.~ He shifted, moving up onto his knees and sliding into his lover's lap, nudging their pelvises together. ~Maybe you had better make sure it's still working though.~
~As you wish, my lovely,~ Prowl rumbled as he let his spike slide free. ~I want to play with your wings while I fill you,~ he nudged his mate to kneel, hands and knees, on the berth.
Jazz purred and settled there, bent forward, aft lifted up and valve exposed for his mate. ~I am growing to love doorwings,~ he said. ~They give you such a good grip to hold while you frag me.~
~And they give a lot of lovely pleasure,~ Prowl rumbled and slammed forward, driving their interface arrays flush with a single thrust and holding there, relishing the way his lover moaned and opened for him just enough to allow him to enter. "So tight, so very good," he moaned, always remembering how much his lover enjoyed his voice. "So perfect."
"All for you," Jazz purred, squirming his hips back and stretching his arms out, flexing his fingers into the berth and arching his back. "Mmm, just like that, lover," he gasped as Prowl drove in again and squeezed the edges of his doorwings in his fingers. "Aah, you always know just how."
"I have studied you hard," Prowl grunted as he thrust, deep and hard without letting attention to Jazz's doorwings slip. "Worth every moment to hear you say that. You're worth every effort."
"Hopefully it hasn't been real effort," Jazz moaned, pressing his helm to the berth and rippling his valve around his lover, trying to give back as much pleasure as he was receiving. "I'd like to think 'facing me is-mmm, oh, so good right there, yes," he shivered, losing his trail of thought, distracted by the seeking, pinching fingers moving over sensitive plating.
Over the hardline, he felt how good it was for Prowl, physically and mentally, just as Prowl could feel what Jazz did. It wasn't a spark merge, but with so many firewalls lowered it was incredibly intimate.
"It is pure pleasure," Prowl promised, groaning at the rush coming at him from all sides. "You are pure pleasure," he added as he drove into his mate, responding to Jazz's desire to be taken on a deep level of his coding.
"So are you," Jazz managed, engines starting to shudder and whine as the motion and friction made them rev harder and harder. He tried to force himself to slow, to keep the energy levels back, to enjoy this for longer, but he only managed a scant handful of kliks before small shocks were jumping between their frames and he moaned deeply. He pushed back against every drive, valve shivering around Prowl, lost to the rich, intoxicating wash of his lover's voice. "Love, lover," he gasped suddenly as he felt the energy buildup reaching its peak. "Close, close, just a little-a little-ah!" he cried, and his frame seized up, joints locking together and plating shuddering with the rush of charge that moved over him and fed right back into Prowl over the hardline.
It wasn't anything Prowl resisted and he willingly gave the couple more thrusts and roared. Energy jumped between them as highly charged transfluid burst into Jazz's valve, lighting up entirely new sensors. It was all fed in a loop, driving them into a secondary overload, then a third, before the charge was finally spent and Prowl slumped forward.
~Forgot how amazing it was when hardlined,~ Prowl murmured.
~Prowler, baby,~ Jazz purred, still shivering, plating loose and venting out heat. ~If you can pick yourself up I'd be more than happy to remind you again, and this time the other way 'round.~
A deep shiver and blinding flare of desire blasted across the hardline at the suggestion and Prowl found the coordination and energy to move. "You treat me so good, my Lord." He exposed his valve and sank down, chest to the berth, hips in the air, in much the same display that jazz had given him. "Please, please take me, fill me, show me once again why I am your whore."
"And such a good whore," Jazz breathed, pushing himself up and running his fingertips right down Prowl's back strut, pausing to caress and circle the joints, letting his other hand take its time exploring the planes of the closest doorwing. He shifted back and moaned softly as his spike extended, awed as he always was by the sight of his bared lover, spark throbbing with the reality that this was his, craving this just as much as he craved being used by the same mech. "My beautiful pet," he murmured, hands finally reaching Prowl's aft as he settled behind him. He gripped his lover's hips, tugged back, rubbing his tip in a slow circle through slick platelets, then without warning, drove himself in.
The first tight, gripping cycle had Jazz shuddering and bending forward over Prowl, groaning as he pushed and felt the echoes of his own spike over the hardline as pleasure washed over his mate. It would never cease to amaze him how Prowl could go from dominating to submissive so quickly, but he was always grateful for it and the way it helped satisfy two deeply-encoded sides of him, the subordinate mate and the dominant Lord.
"So good, such a perfect stretch, like I was made just for you," Prowl moaned, his valve rippling and squeezing around the thickly ruffled spike.
"You were," Jazz moaned. "Oh you absolutely were, and you waited for me before you even knew I would exist." He pressed his mouth to his lover's spine, x-venting hotly and running his glossa up over the struts, sucking on them. ~And I will have your spark, I will have you, and you will have me, all before his broken frame.~
"Yes," Prowl moaned deeply, the hardline blindingly bright in just how hot that image made him. ~We will break him, destroy him, and be rid of him forever. You will barely feel the break as my spark takes up the bond that should have always been mine.~
The answering groan filled Jazz's entire frame, engines revving sharply as images of the tortured and ruined rotor frame filled his processor. ~His greatest mistake,~ he panted, ~Was hurting you, and then teaching me to enjoy pain.~ The grin that crossed his face was savage and the shudders of pleasure that rippled through him went spark-deep, consuming and burning. ~We will overload to his screams, my love, to the scent of his spilled energon, to his agony!~
On the last word, Jazz's back arched and he gave a sharp cry, rocking forward and slamming into his mate, his transfluid and the white-hot crackle of energy both spilling into his lover. Under him Prowl keened, nearly screaming his own ecstasy as he was flooded in every way with Jazz's pleasure and poured his own back to heighten and extend their bliss until it dropped them both into a soft reboot and Jazz slumped against Prowl's back and Prowl slumped to the berth.
Jazz came back online panting, trembling down to his protoform as he managed to roll off his lover and collapse on his back, turning his head to meet Prowl's flickering gaze. "Intense," he whispered, reaching over to run his fingers along Prowl's jaw. "You're so beautiful like this," he murmured. "Overload-hot and spent."
"Same with you," Prowl managed after rebooting his vocalizer a couple times. He squirmed to snuggle against his love and almost immediately began to shut down for recharge, the hardline still connected, giving them both the welcome sense of contentment, safety, and peace.